Reporting Requirements

• Teachers and substate teachers
• Principals
• Superintendents
• Speech Language Pathologists
• School Nurse
• Paraprofessionals and teachers' aides
• Deans of Students
• School Psychologists
• The Superintendent of Public Instruction
• County Superintendents of Schools
• Professionally qualified persons as defined in 20-7-901 MCA. This includes curriculum specialists, artists, musicians, and identifies 'others with special training' who are qualified to appraise pupils' special competencies.

 TRS Law, 19-20-302 MCA, also identifies certain broad categories which may encompass many position titles.

Montana University System or a community college:

• An administrative officer 
• A member of the instructional staff
• A member of the scientific staff 

• The office of county superintendent
• An education cooperative
• A public institution of the state of Montana
• The Montana school for the deaf and blind
• A school district

To determine whether a specific position falls within these categories, TRS applies the following criteria:

An administrative officer of the Board of Public Education, a unit of the Montana University System or a community college is in a TRS reportable position if the individual has primary administrative authority over the operation of the organization or over a specific educational/instructional division or program within that organization. The administrative officer need not directly provide educational or instructional services.

A scientific staff member of a unit of the Montana University System (MUS) or a community college is reportable to TRS if the individual:

• designs scientific research protocols or performs or conducts any research activities;
• directs, supervises, or oversees scientific research or researchers; or
• has primary administrative authority for a scientific research program or project.

TRS applies the following educational/instructional services criteria for all positions not specifically addressed above to determine whether they are TRS-reportable positions.

A position need only meet one of the criteria to be reportable to TRS.

Many possibilities exist, here are a few examples: 

A position under a TRS employer is considered an educational services position if the individual:

Directly teaches or instructs students. 
Examples:

• Teacher
• Teacher's aide
• Paraprofessional
• Science lab monitor or assistant
• Coach

Provides professional or educationally-related services that assist students in participating in and/or receiving the full benefit of an educational program.
Examples:

• School counselor
• Advisor
• School nurse or aide
• Speech/language pathologist or aide,
• Audiologist or aide
• Physical/occupational therapist or aide
• Paraprofessional
• Behavior modification specialist
• School to home or family outreach coordinator
• School to workforce advisor or program coordinator

Evaluates the competencies and/or the proper placement of students; determines or implements student-specific educational programs or plans; and/or disciplines students.
Examples:

• Teacher
• Principal
• Superintendent
• Advisor
• Coach
• A person involved in testing and identifying students eligible for or in need of special services

Determines the proper curriculum and/or educational standards applicable to the program; determines the appropriate educational and instructional methodologies; selects or creates the instructional materials, and/or trains teachers or other staff responsible for implementing the curriculum, standards, and methodology of the program.
Examples:

• Teacher/instructor principal
• Superintendent
• Curriculum director
• Professional development staff
• Curriculum coach

Directs, supervises, or oversees the work of other individuals employed in an educational/instructional services capacity.
Examples:

• Teachers who direct teachers' aides and paraprofessionals
• Superintendents who supervise principals and teachers
• Deans of colleges who oversee the work of college faculty
• Educational program administrators who oversee the program’s faculty and instructors,
• Office of Public Instruction (OPI) staff who oversee educational services provided by school districts

Is the primary administrator of an employer entity that provides educational services or the primary administrator of an educational program of such an employer.
Examples:

• Executive directors of educational cooperatives
• Executive directors of curriculum consortiums

Montana Code Annotated 19-20-101 defines "Extra duty service" as:

Service in an educational services capacity that is not compensated as part of the normally assigned duties and functions of a school district teacher, administrator, or other employee but is regularly assigned to one or more school district teachers, administrators, or other employees as part of the regular operation of the school district's curricular and extracurricular programs.

Active TRS members who work full time cannot accrue additional service credit for extra duties. Their additional pay must be reported to TRS to ensure they receive earned compensation credit.

Active members who work less than full time must be granted creditable service and earned compensation credit for extra duty service. Importantly, this requirement also applies to individuals hired only for the purpose of providing extra duty service, such as coaching

If an existing member of TRS is paid an hourly rate for extra duties, report the actual hours worked and the actual amount paid.

If an existing member is paid a stipend or a single fee for extra duties, report the stipend amount, then divide by the hourly or daily rate of pay for the employee’s regular duties to calculate service credit.

Members who work less than full time are entitled to receive additional service credit for extra
duties, up to the maximum 1.00 year of service per fiscal year.

Stipend amount ÷ daily rate of pay = days of service credit

OR

Stipend amount ÷ hourly rate of pay = hours of service credit

Any questions about calculating and reporting extra duty service credit should be directed to the TRS Accounting department to minimize errors and ensure members are properly credited.

First, it must be determined if the extra duties will exceed the 30 day or 210 hour threshold for mandatory TRS participation in a single fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). If it will, then all service must be reported to TRS.

For example:

A school district hires someone from the community to work only as the head coach for both
football and track for the upcoming school year. He will be paid two stipends ($6,000 for football and $4,800 for track).

(a) Calculate the daily rate of pay and days of service credit.

Because the coach is not otherwise employed by the district, use the contract rate for a full time, entry level teacher ($38,000 in this example), then divide by 187 (or, by the number of days constituting full-time employment in a district with an alternative school calendar).

Then, divide the stipend(s) by the daily rate to determine the number of days of service credit:

$38,000 contract rate for entry-level teacher ÷ 187 days = $203.21 daily rate
$6,000 ÷ 203.21 daily rate = 29.53 days for football
$4,800 ÷ 203.21 daily rate = 23.62 days for track
Total days = 53.15

This employee’s service will exceed the 30 day threshold for mandatory participation,
so the employer must report all his extra duty service to TRS.

(b) Convert the days calculated in (a) to hours, using 7 hours per day as the multiplier:

29.53 days x 7 = 206.71 hours (football)
23.62 days x 7 = 165.34 hours (track)

(c) For reporting purposes, spread the stipends and the hours calculated in (b) across the actual months in which extra duties will occur.

In this example, the coach’s football stipend is earned in September, October, and November, while his track stipend is earned in March, April, and May.

$6,000 stipend ÷ 3 = $2,000.00 per month (Sept, Oct, Nov reports)
206.71 hours ÷ 3 = 68.90 hours per month

$4,800 stipend ÷ 3 = $1,600.00 per month (Mar, Apr, May reports)
165.34 hours ÷ 3 = 55.11 hours per month

Remember: Do not report more than 140 hours in a single month, and do not report
more hours in the fiscal year than the total hours calculated in (b).

Typically, these errors are discovered during TRS audits.

To ensure an affected member receives all service and earned compensation credit to which they're entitled, TRS will set up a service purchase transaction to collect the necessary employer and employee contributions, with interest, for service not reported.

 For service on or after July 1, 2015, the employer must pay employer and employee contributions due, with interest. For service prior to that date, the employer is not required to pay the employee's share, although some employers choose to do so.

While the affected member is not obligated to pay employee contributions due for service that should have been reported by their employer, TRS will grant service credit only for periods for which all employer and employee contributions have been paid.

Coaches must participate in TRS.

They are not allowed to postpone TRS membership until the minimum threshold is met.

Only substitute teachers and part-time teachers' aides/paraprofessionals may elect to postpone TRS membership until they reach the threshold for mandatory participation.

Please note: When the threshold is exceed in a single fiscal year the individual becomes a TRS member and you must report all service provided by that individual in subsequent fiscal years.

• The amount of your expected deposit (log in to your account and check the report module if you are not sure of the amount).
• The date of your expected deposit (you will receive deposits on the last business day of each month).

Please remind your retired health plan members:

• TRS allows employers to set up deductions for their covered retirees' insurance premiums, but TRS has no connection to the insurance provider.
• Retirees must contact their former employer's payroll clerk for all questions concerning their insurance coverage or their premium amount.

For assistance or to sign up for ACH Payments, please reach out to our Retire Payroll team.

Through this process, TRS can ensure employers are reporting members accurately and to the correct system. This can lead to better and more accurate workflows for the employer and ensure members are receiving their correct benefits.

Here are the steps to expect:

1. The auditor will contact the employer via email and mail a letter of engagement to the clerk. Further instructions and requirements are included in this communication.
2. The clerk is emailed or called one week before reports are due to answer any questions or provide guidance.
3. After receiving the requested documents, the auditor maintains open communication with the employer throughout the review process.
4. The auditor then emails questions, clarifications, and requests for additional information to the clerk.
5. After the audit occurs, a preliminary audit report is mailed to the clerk for the employer's records and any questions are answered.
6. A final report is mailed to the clerk for the employers records. This report outlines steps TRS will take to review wage and contribution reports from the current fiscal year to ensure the same errors do not continue to occur.
7. A follow-up meeting occurs two to three months after mailing the final report. This is to ensure that the employer has corrected identified issues and the TRS Active Membership unit has begun processing buybacks, transfers, and service credit corrections.

1. Full worker roster, including names, job titles, and extracurricular assignments.
2. Complete payroll reports from payroll software for the assigned fiscal year. (This will typically be the prior fiscal year.)
3. Timesheets (hourly employees only) for the assigned fiscal year.
4. I-9, W-4 paperwork, personnel documents, or membership forms for a sample size of employees in TRS reportable positions.
5. List of all workers being paid as independent contractors (paid through accounts payable and not included on the employer's regular payroll).
6. Other documents as requested by TRS. These may include records from prior years or other documents as needed based on audit findings.

Service or salary not reported.
This happens when a current or prospective member is not reported to TRS for wages earned or time worked. Examples include substitute teachers who exceed the 210-hour threshold for mandatory TRS participation, coach stipends not reported, adult education positions not reported, and other omissions.

Reported in error to TRS or PERS (Montana Public Employees Retirement System).
Teachers' aide positions can mistakenly be reported to PERS. Meanwhile positions such as lunchroom kitchen staff and bus drivers should be reported to PERS.

Working retiree salary not reported or required documentation was not submitted.
Retired members need to be reported to TRS for wages earned or time worked in a TRS or PERS reportable position. TRS Form 146 should be completed and submitted whenever employing a retired member.

Statewide and regional CSPDs and RESAs must report any of their employees in a teaching or educational service to TRS. This can include:

• The primary administrator for a CSPD or RESA
• A teacher
• A paraprofessional
• A related service provider
• A curriculum coordinator or curriculum coach
• A person who provides instruction or coaching to educational professionals, related service providers, or other stakeholders. 

Reporting to TRS is determined by the duties and functions performed in the position and not the job title. Providing those functions and duties in an "educational services capacity" will require participation in TRS. This can include, but is not limited to:

• Positions that provide direct educational services to and supervision of students (including but not limited to teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, superintendents, and related providers (therapists, etc., involved in support of special education students).
• Evaluation and testing of students (including but not limited to teachers, professionally qualified persons involved in gifted education, positions involved in IDEA evaluations and the provision of other special education services).
• Determination of and training in the curriculum and educational standards to be met by the employer (including but not limited to teacher trainers and curriculum developers and trainers) 
• Positions involved in the supervision, evaluation and training of teachers or others working in educational services positions.
• Positions involved in administering or supervising the educational services to be provided by a TRS employer (including but not limited to superintendents, principals, or the primary administrator of an education cooperative, curriculum cooperative/consortium, or similar entity).

If a TRS retiree is employed by a CSPD or RESA the same post-retirement requirements and earnings limitations apply.

Final Determination on TRS status of CSPDs and RESAs, October 10, 2014

Draft Final Determination on TRS status of CSPDs and RESAs, September 12, 2014

Interim memo on TRS status of CSPDs and RESAs, August 12, 2014